Goals
by ShankWrite
Summary: The story of Sasori and his final fall to the darkness
1. Training

Although it had seemed like a regular day in Sunakagure with the wind blowing sand from the desert through the streets and houses-there had been a growing tension within the village. Everybody was going about their daily routines, not knowing that just outside the village in an underground cave almost invisible amongst the sand dunes was one of their own kinsmen-training privately. Inside, Sasori was working hard for practice. It was obvious that he had spent a lot of time finding and crafting this sanctuary out as a safe haven. Sasori of the Red Sands loved his training cave bunker and he was practicing his puppet control and working on new techniques. Sasori sighed. He was sick of training by himself as it got boring, but nevertheless he was definitely improving and he was always thinking outside the box to get better like a true shinobi should. Even though a puppet user was his favourite form of fighting, it came with a few weaknesses as any style does. One of these weaknesses was if the opponent got in too close for a taijutsu fight. However, it gave Sasori pleasure to know that he was taking the fighting style in new directions unlike his grandmother. Chiyo had taught him everything he knew and she was indeed skilled in the craft, but she was getting old…and weak.

Sasori ran his hand through his long thick red hair and thought about how young he was and laughed. It was he that would be the new generation of ninjas and he would shine among them. Although he could have kept practicing, Sasori knew he should head back to the village, Chiyo was going to question him about what he learnt once he returned and he also knew he should begin gathering materials to put his new ideas into place. He was going to revolutionise the puppet fighting style and he had been able to hide from Chiyo how talented he really was. There was no puppet user greater than him and even though nobody else knew this it gave him great satisfaction that his naïve granny thought she was still the top. Still, it was frustrating that he hadn't been in a proper fight in a while-one that actually got him feeling alive as if his life was truly in danger if he made a mistake.

As Sasori turned to walk out of his hideout, he stopped. It seemed his wish may be answered and he readied himself. Circumstances had arisen, which would end his training session for the day but keep him preoccupied a little longer. Without warning, a ninja was suddenly right behind Sasori with a kunai held at his back. It dug into his skin a little showing the ninja wasn't afraid to use lethal force if provoked. Sasori didn't make any sudden movements and kept his gaze fixed in front of him. A voice deep and gruff sounded behind him, "Who are you and what business do you have here?" Sasori didn't answer, he knew who it was and he was surprised his identity hadn't been discovered yet. If the light was a little brighter, his fiery red hair would have been easily distinguishable. But no matter-this ninja had entered his quarters and he was more than ready for a fight.

He tried to turn around quickly, but wasn't anywhere near quick enough for the ninja to stab him a few times through the body. It didn't matter though, as it was never Sasori standing there the entire time but a puppet replacement. The intruding ninja backed away immediately but was caught off guard from behind. Sasori had kept one of his creations Karasu in wait and had got it in behind the ninja and wrapped him up tightly with the arm extensions fitted to it. It was lucky for this ninja that Sasori hadn't applied the small blades into these arm extensions otherwise it would have ended the fight then and there; he also hadn't counted on Karasu's arms not being long enough not to completely get around his really wide opponent's body. Because Karasu couldn't lock the arms around the ninja, he was able to kick and shake himself free and get some distance between the puppets and himself. Sasori was hidden in amongst the darkness, and although he didn't like to show himself the opportunity presented itself and he quickly got behind the ninja as he had been done with before. Sasori lightly stuck his kunai into the back of this ninja. His identity was already obvious from the way he fought so it was no surprise when the ninja spoke to him directly. "Sasori, what are you doing down here? I had no idea, I was asked to check around here for any enemy spies-when I found this almost invisible bunker, I thought maybe Konoha had come after us."

"No. No spies I am afraid. I am just training." Sasori was right all along as to who it was. He was one of the ANBU members of the Hidden Sand Village. He looked like a fat piece of trash, but deceptively strong. His name was Hiruko. "How did you know I was in here?" Hiruko asked, curious as to how he could have planned the attack under the surprise.

"This is where I come to train. I have rigged the entire place to silently tell me if someone has entered, the second you opened the door, a string broke sending a white flag from the roof telling me somebody was here-like yourself I didn't know it was you." Hiruko began laughing, his voice was incredible gruff and the aura he had was someone that had seen a lot of combat and death in front of him. "A bad misunderstanding Sasori, you did quite well it would seem if you were not from this village I would have been dead." Sasori pulled the kunai back which he had still had planted against Hiruko's skin and watched as Hiruko walked towards the exit. Before he left, he turned back to Sasori, "One more thing, have you seen any of our ANBU brothers around here? There have been a couple of disappearances, which is why I am one of the ninjas investigating it-it seems in the past month there have been about five ninjas go missing." Sasori shook his head and looked carefully at Hiruko. He was probably in the best lit part of the bunker and it seemed to be a sign for Sasori. Sasori took notice for the first time of Hiruko's body. Small, large-very close to the ground and extremely fit for balance-if his body type was related to a weapon, it looked like an ultimate defensive one stocked on the front line to keep the enemy back. Sasori most likely wasn't going to have any more trouble with him, but this was definitely an answer to one of his problems. A smile came across his face, "Suppose I did know something though."

"What do you mean Sasori?"

"Supposing he was right here with us now, what would happen?" Hiruko didn't say anything but got a little suspicious of Sasori. Sasori saw him reach down and grab a kunai from his belt. It had been too dark for Hiruko to notice and Sasori lifted his finger beckoning Hiruko to turn around and look behind him.

Hiruko turned around and his face suddenly went pale. A lifeless and hollow looking puppet stood by the exit and it beared a great resemblance to the most recent ninja disappearance from the Sand Village. He looked back in horror at Sasori, "Is this who I think it is…?"

"You shouldn't be taking your eyes off my puppets Hiruko." Hiruko turned around quickly to see that the puppet was now gone from behind him. Sasori was messing with his prey now and he could now see Hiruko understanding he was in a dangerous situation. The only option for his enemy was to try and reason with him and stall for a plan. Sasori was quite happy to oblige while he prepared his own defensive measures. "What are you thinking Sasori? Do you not have any loyalty to your village? To your family?"

"No I do not. I need a test, somebody that is going to make me feel alive. Then when it is done, I will need you as a trophy." Hiruko didn't like the sound of what he was hearing and made some hand seals, "Sand Scorpion Jutsu!" It was Hiruko's signature technique where he summoned sand from all around him to manipulate itself into the shape of a scorpion's tail which could do immense damage with the speed and power. It snapped at Sasori so quickly there was no chance of being able to move and slammed straight through his torso.

Sasori stopped and gasped, but there was no real pain and he reached up and grabbed the sand tail as tightly as he could show it was another puppet replacement. Hiruko was able to get his tail free but not quick enough for a hidden puppet bearing a kitana blade to swipe at him completely cutting through his entire body in one slice. The two halves fell to the floor, but there was no blood or organs and it soon turned into sand. This is what Sasori had wanted, a good fight knowing Hiruko couldn't be beaten with one or two attacks and he would be a great addition to his collection. Just seeing him in action fighting with the tail behind him made him almost drool at the possibilities for himself. He couldn't get too carried away though, Hiruko could now reach any part of the room and equalled out some of the advantage as he was fighting in Sasori's home territory. "I am sorry Hiruko but as much as I would like to continue this fight I am afraid I should end it now."

Sasori bought all his puppets out, and unleashed a poisonous gas from one of them. He sought shelter in a crevice he had specifically carved out which left him untouched by the gas and waited for his plan to go into effect. If Hiruko took one breath of this he would surely die and knew he would need to get out of the way. Soon enough he was right and he saw a figure go towards the ceiling as the gas hadn't reached it yet. Sasori sent one of his puppets up there to finish him off and quickly saw it was a final distraction for him to make his escape out the exit. There was no time for Sasori to reach him and Hiruko also was twirling his scorpion tail violently and left absolutely no openings to be touched. It was indeed a good escape plan, but Hiruko was too worried about being killed from behind rather than directly in front. As soon as he opened the door, one of his puppets was waiting out there and shot poisonous darts into his body.

It was a rather quick working toxin. Hiruko dropped to his knees and suddenly realised how good Sasori was. The tiny gaps in the door were more than enough for Sasori to control a puppet not even in the same room. He soon died and Sasori dragged his body back into the room. A great victory for him-the time drew closer when he would have to leave his village otherwise he would be caught and executed for treason. Then Sasori felt a presence. Someone was in the room with him, watching him, studying him. He looked around not knowing what to do-this wasn't anyone from the Sand Village. A killer's aura seemed to corner him and trap him within his own mind. Then on the other side of the room, something was coming through the wall. As if he were a ghost, a man so dark he seemed to eat the shadow around him was standing in front of him. Sasori couldn't see much, but he knew he was wearing a long black cloak of some kind and had jet black hair. Even though there was no making out the face from the darkness and the hair covering it, Sasori could clearly see the eyes. They glowed in the darkness and seemed to look into his soul. If Sasori put it into words, it was like looking into the eyes of a snake. This mystery person spoke, "Sasori the puppet master, I have a proposition for you."


	2. Sannin

Sasori looked in awe at the person in front of him. Pure evil seemed to emanate from his skin and almost pushed Sasori to the floor. When he began walking towards him, Sasori backed off as the snake eyes of this man looked into the depths of his mind. Sasori showed every ounce of his strength to show no expression, even though he was very intimidated. Just by looking at him he could tell that this was one of the strongest ninjas he had never seen and couldn't work out why he would be here talking to him, "What do you want?"

"Sasori of the Red Sands, I have been sent to ask if you are interested in leaving your village and joining us?"

"You know my name but you address me without telling me yours."

"You are correct how rude of me. I am Orochimaru." Sasori was shocked, he had heard of this guy-he was a renegade ninja and one of the legendary sannin of Konoha. But what was he doing here and now? Who had he allied himself with? In Sasori's confusion, he didn't answer and was trying to get a grip on the situation as he didn't know how to act. He found himself looking around for an escape plan as a precaution to the situation. When Sasori didn't answer, Orochimaru kept talking, "You practice by yourself here every day and you do not test it in battle that must get boring. The only ninjas you have killed are ones from your own village-can I ask why you show no care for your village?"

"Our village is still weak. We do not have the amount of ninjas that Konoha has which is why we are supposed to make each individual ninja stronger-but we are still puppets to them. This is why I want to prove myself strong and show that I can be better than our village altogether. I won't need to answer to anybody."

"That is interesting. Let me assure you, allying with us can only benefit you. You will be fighting alongside some of the strongest ninjas in the free world and our missions are always of an S Class rank." Sasori was very intrigued by this. Sasori also realised, this guy and whoever else he was with must have been watching him for some time to know this much about him.

Sasori's ninja instincts suddenly kicked in and he thought this may be a way for Orochimaru to distract him before killing him. Sasori tried not to move his head but moved his eyes around his hideout-searching for an escape plan if needed. It was lucky he did, as Orochimaru suddenly charged at him. Orochimaru had very good speed and although Sasori had done his best to think ahead-he knew he could never beat a man like this as he was now. But then Sasori realised it didn't matter. Going up against this guy was what he needed, what he had waited for-and now it was here. Whether he would be beaten or not, he wasn't going to be beaten down easily and would give this legendary ninja a run for his money.

What he did have to his advantage was home territory and he had puppets stashed everywhere hidden from view and it was just a matter of connecting a chakra string to them and using them as his weapons. As Orochimaru charged head on, Sasori had connected a puppet to attack him from behind. His opponent turned to see that he had no time to defend himself and the puppet was able to stick the sword straight through his body. Sasori almost rejoiced but watched as Orochimaru didn't drop down or even show much pain. Orochimaru's body suddenly became really wide and wider still. It looked like he was going to explode and Sasori even readied himself for one, but he wasn't ready for what he saw next. A pair of arms sprouted out of his mouth and pulled open his lips bringing out an entirely new and unscathed Orochimaru ready to fight. Like a snake that had shed his old skin, Sasori could only look and feel the real rush of the strength this ninja had.

As if he had been hiding his true speed, Orochimaru was suddenly right behind Sasori who was no caught in a bad situation. Sasori though had planned to be in this situation at some stage and had already connected a thick rope to his waist with one of his puppets who pulled him along with him jumping-was able to get him to a safe distance. He got out of the way just in time for Orochimaru to swing a bright blue sword that seemed incredibly strong. Sasori readied himself again, feeling more confident after he had outsmarted him in that bout, but there was still knowing he needed something more to win this. At best he could only attack with puppets and weapons sealed within them and he hadn't made any of his new puppets he had wanted to for a while. His last resort of the rope around the waist was also his emergency help, which he could no not use anymore. Fighting anymore was only slowing the inevitable. Orochimaru stopped and instead of attacking, he smiled, "Your skills in battle are quite useful."

"You are still going on about me joining you after you tried to kill me."

"I was sent here to ask you to join-if you do decide to join you will be my partner on missions. I attacked because you were expecting me too-and I was a little bored with just talking." Sasori thought to himself that this was a sick way of having fun but then realised he had just had the most fun in his life. His heart was beating so quickly that now the situation had calmed down he realised how much adrenaline was going through his body. Being partner with a legendary sannin made up his mind for him but he didn't want to seem too eager yet. Orochimaru kept talking, "Do you realise how strong you could be given the opportunity and we are prepared to give it to you."

Sasori felt no ties to the village and this guy had told him he would get stronger. But if he was going to be fighting with the strongest ninjas, he would also be fighting against the strongest ninjas and what he had just experienced from a small scuffle with Orochimaru was enough to prove to him that he should definitely join. Something had just awoken within Sasori, a craving for battle, for fighting that he needed to quench. "What is the name of this organisation?"

"You do not find out until you are accepted, but I must say that if you do want to come join us-you need to prove yourself one last time. For example, we currently have an Uchiha from Konoha that gave us the heads of his entire clan and although we believe you will fit in fine, we need a significant assassination." Orochimaru smiled again and backed up into the side of the cave. He disappeared one again as if he was melting into the rock. The presence then left Sasori was well who was standing there wondering what the hell just happened. He needed to think about someone he could kill and he thought he might be better after a rest for the night. Sasori emptied the entrails and insides in Hiruko's body and would leave it to dry out over night. Some herbs and oils he bought with him to the cave would keep it from rotting and smelling overnight and he would return tomorrow to begin making it into one of his greatest puppets in his collection. As he left his training sanctuary he looked out over Sunakagure. The sand blew through the buildings carved from earth and numerous memories flashed through Sasori's head, but that's all it was, just memories. He found at that point that he felt no ties, nothing for the place he had grown up in and if it meant betraying it and his grandparents for his own strength, then it was worth it, it was definitely worth it.


	3. Preparation

Sasori headed back towards the village. With all the tension of missing ninjas, he was eyed off carefully by the guards at the gates. Once they saw it was him though they gave him a smile and let him through. Sasori didn't smile or wave back at them-they were useless. He walked through the town centre back to his house and just by looking at it, it appeared nobody was home. He did love his quiet time and wondered how long it would be for Granny Chiyo to get back. He opened the door and almost straight away he noticed some kunai were being launched at him. Sasori unloaded his puppet Karasu to block him from being hit and he fired it forward for offence. He thought it was too good to be true to be able to have three fights in one day but it was Elder Chiyo with one of her random tests. It seemed she had thrown them to see his response time and transition from defensive into an offensive manoeuvre. Sasori put Karasu away, "So did I pass another of your useless tests?" Chiyo didn't say anything. She had been very weird with him lately and he wondered if she knew about him killing ANBU ninjas of the Sand Village for his own training benefits.

He continued down the hall to his room and looked out his window over Sunakagure once more. He thought about everything that had happened, but most of all the deal in his mind and who was a high profile ninja to kill to offer as a sacrifice to this organisation. He needed someone of high skill, and also someone to prove his loyalty. It was true he had already killed five ANBU ninjas of his own village and proven his loyalty-but they were only small fry and not enough. He needed something big, possibly his grandparents, the elders of the village and the holders of the puppet fighting style, but he would be embarrassed to say that he killed his grandparents. Sasori kept picturing Orochimaru saying that they were old and fragile and counted for nothing. People were not like his puppets, people couldn't last forever and still left him with any options. How was he supposed to match up with the Uchiha bringing the heads of his entire clan? It was indeed a great feat.

There was a knock at the door. Sasori didn't turn around he knew it was Chiyo, "Yes?" She didn't open the door but spoke through the small opening, "Sasori. I don't know what has got into you the last few months, but I have a feeling that you will not be here for too much longer. If there is a time soon when you are suddenly gone, I will not expect you to come back. You are indeed a strong ninja but you do not know everything. One thing you lack is your attachment to anything but yourself. This is why you will never surpass the Third Kazekage as when you fight only for yourself, you do not unleash a ninja's true strength." Sasori said nothing, and he heard Chiyo leave. He couldn't believe it. His grandmother had just given him the perfect target-someone that would surely prove his loyalty and show his worth. He would never be allowed back into the village but as he already knew, this didn't matter. This was an opponent worth fighting against even if there was no invitation from this organisation. He would have to start planning, and he would have to begin getting his weapons ready as soon as possible. He would definitely have to rest a day or two to save his chakra and stamina. All of this was in order to assassinate the Sand Villages greatest ever ninja-the Third Kazekage.

It took a while to plan. Every detail, from getting into the main Sand building where the Kazekage stayed-to moving through unnoticed and finding his private quarters and lastly the battle itself. He had to fix every puppet he had, load them up with as many weapons as he could in preparation for the greatest battle ever. Never before had he felt so nervous and he didn't like it. He believed nervousness would hinder his performance and couldn't think of a way around it for the moment. His very first step of getting into the Sand building was important. If he couldn't get in there, then there would be no battle with the Kazekage. To do this, he would have to get passed some special ANBU guards that would surely be posted there. ANBU guards didn't worry him though, he had already proven that one on one he could take any of them down, it was their teamwork and chain attacks that he was worried about. He hoped that once he did find the Kazekage's quarters, it was as they were rumoured to be. The myth around Sunakagure said that the Kazekage's private quarters was a huge hall with lots of things on offer. It was big enough to hold an event in there, or even train without being disturbed. This was kind of like what Sasori had and the image made him think of himself in a Kazekage outfit. It was the first time he had smiled in a while, someone like him could never become a Kazekage because he only ever fought and cared for himself. However this didn't mean he couldn't be strong and whatever the case-Sasori hoped the rumours were true about the private quarters so that he had plenty of space to work with hiding and concealing himself and his puppets. Sasori also understood very well he needed to keep as much distance between himself and his opponent's iron sand techniques otherwise he would be killed easily. He felt it was finally time and he left his room for the last time. His granny Chiyo was out somewhere, and he remembered what Chiyo said to him a couple of weeks ago about how she knew he was going to be leaving for good. He also recalled how she said he would never be as strong as the Kazekage because he fights only for his own cause. Today, that statement becomes false. This was definitely the fight of his life and he left his house and made his way through the streets of Sunakagure.

As he walked through he was looking at people shopping, children playing and realised how boring this place was. There was so much on offer in the world compared to this dull dry place; he knew this was the best thing that could ever happen to him. As he got closer to the Sand Building temple, he began walking behind buildings to not bring attention to himself. He was able to sneak around the back of the central Sand building and saw that the secret entrance that his gran once took him though for an emergency message wasn't guarded very well at all. It seemed that with the disappearing ninjas, the elder council were forced to follow up the investigation with fears of a coming attack. Sasori smiled as he had already unknowingly helped himself to get into the building easier. Eyeing off the secret entrance, there was nobody outside the door guarding but most likely there was only one guard on the inside. Sasori needed to kill this guy quickly and quietly. If he had any chance of calling for help, the whole scheme would be done for. There was a way though that Sasori thought of. He took out one of his more human looking puppets and made it approach the door and knock loudly. The ninja on the inside opened it up the slot and peeped out seeing someone he hadn't seen in a while. In excitement he opened the door in a rush, "Hiruko? Where have you been?" It was the opening Sasori needed and he threw some kunai from where he stood. The ninja's senses picked up on the approaching kunai and jumped in front of Hiruko and deflected them away. He was about to get ready to fight whoever it was, but never stood a chance. He had turned his back on Hiruko, being controlled by Sasori and paid the price for it. Sasori made Hiruko pick up the body and carry it over to him. Where he was now, would be a good temporary hiding spot and conceal the body long enough for him to flee the village.

With the entrance now open, he readied himself to enter the building. He wished he had been able to make Hiruko the way he wanted to. His plans for his body as a puppet eventually lead to him being like an armoured puppet where he could seek refuge inside and not be vulnerable to close quarter combat. However, time hadn't been on his side for this. So instead he had found another formation. He used Hiruko to walk out in front so if there was anybody around, he would be the first to attract their attention. He would follow behind so that he could make any counter measures if possible. Then lastly he would have one of his bladed puppets following behind so that if anyone did manage to catch Sasori off guard he had a backup plan. It wasn't long before his bait caught someone. "Hiruko?" A sand ninja came out and approached Hiruko. Sasori hid behind a corner controlling Hiruko. He made Hiruko continue passed the ninja without saying a word. The sand ninja surprisingly didn't say anything and walked back the other way. It was a short walk later, until they came to a room with huge doors. Sasori could only assume he had found the Kazekage's room.


	4. Battle

Sasori snuck into the Kazekage's room and saw it was everything the rumours said it would be. It was absolutely huge. Sasori couldn't believe how many hiding spots were available for him and his weapons. It wouldn't be long now; he needed to set up as many preparations as possible. He found just the right place for himself. It was hidden from sight, but it wasn't an obvious hiding spot. He hoped that because he was a puppet user, the Kazekage might assume he was far away. He got in, the spot was even better than he imagined. He could blend himself in with his surroundings and see the whole battlefield so he could use any of his puppets at any given time. Sasori waited for a long time, it seemed longer than what it actually was before finally the doors to the room opened. Sasori watched as the Kazekage entered the room, unaware that he was very close to being assassinated. Sasori could feel the excitement within him, he felt like jumping up and attacking now and in that moment of excitement he wasn't concentrating and the Kazekage sensed his presence. He didn't turn around, but remained where he was, "For an assassin trying to kill the best ninja in this village, you are not masking your intent to kill very well at all. I am sure you are already aware of the risk of what you are doing right now as to how many have tried to kill me. I am the Kazekage of Sunakagure for a reason." Finally after waiting and planning, their match had finally begun.

Sasori sent Hiruko out first, hoping to maybe soften the Kazekage's guard. The Kazekage could only see a figure in front of him and he began getting black sand swirling up and circling his body. It truly was an intimidating sight. It wasn't until Hiruko got closer that the Kazekage recognised him. "Hiruko old friend. Surely it is not you that wishes to kill me?" When Hiruko didn't say anything, the Kazekage knew it wasn't him. "So there is an impostor in here?"

Hiruko was standing in front of the Kazekage and Sasori had began controlling his bladed puppet which was sneaking up from behind the Kazekage. He didn't know whether the Kazekage had done it on purpose to give him a false sense of security, or if it was unintentional-but it looked like it was going to end there and then. The bladed puppet swung the sword connected to its hand at the head of the Kazekage who was only just able to duck underneath it. It had forced him to the floor and left him no chance of evading from both sides and the puppet swung the sword down in a chopping action with as much force as Sasori could put into it. There was however still a defence it couldn't penetrate. The Kazekage gathered as much Iron Sand as possible to create a blanket of protection from the sword which it couldn't penetrate. Sasori made his puppet retreat and wasn't disappointed as this attack was about data gathering and seeing how well the Kazekage could use his techniques for offence and defence. Now that he had gathered a little, he could begin to use combinations. Before he could begin though, he heard the Kazekage say something, "Sasori!" It was enough to stop him for a second, he had figured out rather quickly it was him. "There are not many puppet users left in Sunakagure and Chiyo would never do something like this. That leaves you, her grandson and the heir to the puppet techniques. It has been you that has been killing your own kinsmen. I will not try and reason with you as you have made your choice, but I must admit you are showing some talents I haven't heard of yet. It is a shame they will not get a chance to develop."

This only spurred Sasori on more as he waited for a moment and manipulated one of his other puppets to come out. It wasn't his best craftwork, but this puppet had a purpose. The Kazekage looked at it and Sasori could have sworn there was a trace of a smile on his lips. The puppet leant forward and opened its mouth and started blowing purple gas towards the Kazekage. As the gas came towards the opponent, he backed off knowing very well what it was. He knew before he could do anything, he had to get out of the way of the gas and as he backtracked he just noticed some darts coming towards him. He was able to avoid them and noticed that the darts also had poison dripping off the end of them. Opponents like this were troublesome, every single weapon was poisonous and meant he had to completely avoid them otherwise he was done for.

Sasori was only beginning to show his planning and chain attacks and mixing gas with long distant techniques were quite effective in troubling an opponent. It was only since the Kazekage thought this that he realised there would be one more thing to make this a perfect plan which enabled him to be ready for it. Gas attack, with long distant attacks followed up by a close range attack was what he thought of and he knew the bladed puppet would once again be used to come in close and try to finish him off. Such complicated movements being shown, the Kazekage was forced to use his iron sand to hold off the bladed puppet-but found himself almost swamped by the poisonous gas. The gas enveloped over the Kazekage and was so thick it temporarily blocked him from view. Sasori looked down and marvelled over his plan even though he knew it wasn't enough. The plan in the beginning was for the gas to be the proper weapon. The other attacks were only distractions so he couldn't use the iron sand as protection from the gas until it was too late.

From out of the gas, iron sand came sweeping out, knocking down his bladed puppet and his gas puppet to the ground. It was his escape plan and because he couldn't see outside the gas, it was his way of ensuring his escape route and making sure it was safe to come out. Soon enough he came back into view, and looked unaffected by the gas. "Your gas cannot hurt me; I have a no fail strategy when you use it." The Kazekage was in an area untouched by the gas and knew that it was very possible; Sasori was very close to him right now. The Kazekage hadn't been in a battle like this for sometime and his opponent was very skilled. He knew very well Chiyo didn't know his full talent otherwise she would have expressed her concern sooner. He had planned this thoroughly and was starting to really recognise him as a ninja. However, it was time to begin using some of his own techniques. He swelled up as much iron sand as he could. It circled him and moved around him in a prime position to be used for defence or offence. He raised both hands in the air, "You are hiding Sasori and I will find you." The sand moved out from him and swept across the room. It was the Kazekage's way of clean sweeping the entire place looking for the puppeteer. Sasori made his long range puppet begin firing once again at the Kazekage who could easily block them while still using his attack, "This only means I am getting closer to you Sasori and you are becoming desperate." Sasori made his bladed puppet and gas puppet come out again and the Kazekage already had a way to mobilise them. "Don't you think you are relying too much on these same puppets of yours Sasori?" All puppet users were not good in close combat, which was why the Kazekage had to make it one quickly. He used his iron sand to take the form of the Kazekage as a sand clone. It was fast, and incredibly strong. It was directly able to take the attacks of the bladed puppet and be hit with poisonous darts of the long range puppet. Sasori made his gas puppet spit out more gas towards the Kazekage who didn't move. Sasori watched to see how come he wasn't affected by it. When the gas cleared, the Kazekage was standing there with an iron sand face mask covering his mouth and nose. This is why he could easily stand within the gas; none was getting through at all. Indeed he was a formidable enemy and Sasori found himself wanting to end things even though he was having a lot of fun in this fight.

Sasori wanted to try this chain attack to see if it would work. He used his long range puppet to fire some kunai at the real Kazekage, which the sand clone was able to stand in front of. Sasori charged his bladed puppet at the Kazekage which was also met by the sand clone. The final distraction had been set, the Kazekage had felt no need to defend any more from the gas puppet because of the face mask and he charged his gas puppet in, which was now beginning to leak red fumes from all the joints in the body. Sasori set off the special acid poison which was lying dormant in the body of the puppet to take out the enemy. This acid gas was so strong it didn't even need to be breathed in; it would burn his skin severely to the point of death. The puppet melted under the extreme amount of acid coursing through it and a red cloud puffed out around the Kazekage. Sasori bought his bladed puppet back out of the way of the gas so it wouldn't be destroyed-it still had use. Sasori couldn't see the Kazekage and wondered if he had any way of avoiding this technique at all.


	5. Goals

It took an age for the red fumes to dissipate into the air. Sasori smiled as he could now see how his opponent had managed to hold on. A black ball stood in the room. It looked so strong that an army couldn't get into it. This is what iron sand looked like if it was compressed together as hard as it could go. He heard the Kazekage's voice from inside. "That attack would have worked if you put more effort into making your puppet. I knew from the beginning what weapon that puppet really concealed." Sasori remembered the first time the Kazekage saw his gas puppet, he smiled. "You see a puppet maker takes great pride in each and every one of their puppets. However, that puppet was put together quickly and didn't look the part so I knew there was something interesting about it-it was a suicide puppet. But because you couldn't put explosions inside it because you need to kill me without anyone else coming to my aid-it only left a special kind of gas. I saw through everything and your acid cannot go through my iron sand-nothing can." Everything he had said was true. Sasori would loved to have put explosives inside it, but for this reason he couldn't. Now he was left waiting to see what the Kazekage would do.

Without warning, iron sand compacted together bursted out sending iron sand everywhere. Sasori was unable to save his bladed puppet which fell under the sea of sand which went through all the joints and rendered it useless. The sand also was sent firing at the long range puppet and destroyed that as well, overwhelming it in great force and taking it apart. There was also another part to this plan by the Kazekage.

The Kazekage was hoping to catch his opponent off guard and it seemed he had. The iron sand that had swamped the battlefield had caught the opponent by the leg. The Kazekage smiled as it was finally over. He dragged Sasori out of his hiding spot and lifted him upside down into the air so there was no chance of escape. Sasori said nothing, which the Kazekage wasn't surprised of as he had never really been a big talker. "Whoever you are doing this for and for whatever reason, you shouldn't have come here Sasori," the Kazekage said as he walked closer. Still Sasori said nothing and the Kazekage got agitated. He controlled his sand to lift him up the right way and move to all his arms and legs. With a clean motion he was able to rip them all out from their sockets. Still Sasori said nothing, not even a wince in pain but the Kazekage could see the leaking blood come pour out of him.

He dropped Sasori to the floor with the torso falling first followed by the arms and legs that fell around him. He walked towards him and it wasn't until he was right over the top of the body that he realised it wasn't Sasori-it was a final puppet that looked like Sasori. He turned around just in time to see some kunai coming towards him, he was able to use his iron sand to block them and it seemed that Sasori's emergency plan was over. He really had been able to plan well and showed incredible skill as a ninja. But now it was over. He had nowhere to go and no more puppets to use. He began swirling his iron sand ready to use it and suddenly, felt a stabbing pain in the back of his leg. He turned to see the Sasori look-a-like puppet he just mangled with one of the arms sticking into his leg. He couldn't believe it. This was the final attack. The whole time this is what he had prepared for and it had worked. The poison was already making its way through his body and he knew he had been bested by Sasori. "You shouldn't have turned your back on my puppet," Sasori laughed. "It is a simple skill for a puppet user to reconnect the strings after we have broken them." The Kazekage dropped to the ground, "There will be a time when you will be beaten too by the next generation of ninjas," said the Kazekage.

"What if I were to last forever?"

"No ninja can be on top forever-you will eventually find that out." Soon enough, the Kazekage stopped moving. Sasori looked down at his beaten opponent in such a euphoria he thought he was going to scream.

Sasori looked down at his beaten opponent and couldn't help but feel good knowing he had beaten the Third Kazekage of Sunakagure. He was surprised with himself, not being able to believe what he had just accomplished and knowing he would easily be accepted into this organisation with this offering. He was also happy he had managed to keep his opponent in good condition after being beaten so that it wouldn't be hard to make him into a puppet. As he leant over the Kazekage's body, he had relaxed too early and was caught off guard. The Kazekage had saved up some final strength to kill his opponent. Sasori jumped back quickly but couldn't quite escape as some iron sand caught a hold of his wrist. The Kazekage was indeed dying, but it seemed his pride wouldn't let him die without taking some damage with him. "You will die with me traitor, once I have you in my sand, you cannot escape. This way, Chiyo will also know of your deceit rather than it being a mystery forever." The iron sand moved up from Sasori's wrists to his elbow and then further. If Sasori didn't do something quick it would soon encase him and crush him. Thinking on his toes, Sasori had no other option; he bought Hiruko out with a wind sword. The Kazekage once again protected himself in a blanket of iron sand hoping to have enough time to kill Sasori but he hadn't thought of Sasori's plan well. Sasori was never going to try and kill the Kazekage, he motioned Hiruko to swipe the sword down cutting straight through his arm releasing him from the iron sand but leaving him with a serious wound on his body. Sasori screamed in pain but tried to keep it calm so he could watch the Kazekage die. "You can no longer use your techniques very well puppeteer-you will not be able to turn anybody else into your puppets."

"Is that what you honestly think? I can make as many puppets as I like and I will find a way to fight even with this wound. You might want to get used to the idea of human puppets-you will be my very best one." The face on the Kazekage showed true horror and depression as he took his last breaths and died. Sasori had wrapped his wound as tightly as he could to slow down the bleeding as well as a blood clotting pill. It would do for now, he would have enough time to get some treatment and then leave. Sasori made sure the Kazekage was actually dead and he used Hiruko to pick it up and put it inside him, which had been his purpose from the beginning. Soon, he would be able to take refuge inside Hiruko and use it for close combat and eliminate the weakness of puppet users. However, he looked down at his arm that had been cut off and thought how troublesome it would be. He also happened to see the puppet arm that had killed the Kazekage. It dawned to him-an idea how he could fix his arm and make him unbelievably strong in combat. He would never have to feel pain or emotion again that would hinder him in a fight and his entire body could be turned into any weapon he liked. If he made himself a puppet, he could never get old and withered and weak or be slowed by pain-it was a way that he could truly last forever.

It wasn't any trouble getting the Third's body out, Sasori snuck behind his puppet Hiruko who was transporting the body. He was able to change his form to look like a regular civilian and safely get outside the city. Once he got out, he went back to his secret bunker cave where he had trained so vigorously for a long time. He dropped the Kazekage to the floor and almost jumped for joy. Before he could though an eerie feeling came over the room. "Orochimaru, would you like to see what I have to offer the organisation?" He looked back and saw Orochimaru coming out of the wall with a huge smile on his face. His snake eyes also showing excitement at the gift that had been bought. "I knew you were skilled, but I never thought you could bring us something like this. You definitely deserve to be a part of this organisation." Sasori looked at the outfit he would wear and the status he would give him. "What are you going to do about that little injury you have there?"

"Do not worry about this; this can be fixed using my methods. Tell me-what is the name of this organisation?"

Orochimaru laughed at this question, "We have a long walk ahead of us, why don't we save the questions to fill in time." Sasori nodded and followed Orochimaru out of the bunker, with Hiruko once again carrying the Kazekage. He didn't look back over the view of Sunakagure, where his grandparents would never see him again. This organisation was his true calling and the possibilities that could become of it were endless.


End file.
